The Problem With Teddy
by Angelamermaid
Summary: It's complicated. Written for the In the After fic battle.


"Are you sure?" Cristina looks at him, lacking her usual self-confidence.

He stares at her for a moment. _How could she not know?_ He's sure. He starts kissing her again, trying to convince her with his lips, since his words hadn't reassured her. To hell with being in the ambulance bay, surrounded by other people. He feels her body relax, meld against his as she kisses him back.

"You two! Get a room!" Bailey barks from the left. Guiltily, they jump apart. Owen looks sideways at Cristina, a flush colouring her cheeks.

"I'm sure," he whispers, feeling his own face flame red. "Go, I'll talk to Bailey." Cristina nods at him with a tiny smile, before turning around and making her escape.

"Dr Hunt!" Bailey marches up to him.

"I know, I'm sorry," he says, holding up his hands in surrender. "We were, just, clearing up something."

She eyes him. "Well, do that in an on call room like everyone else, Hunt!"

He nods. "Yes ma'am!"

**

By unspoken agreement, she waits for him outside the hospital at the end of their shifts. She takes his arm and they walk in silence to her apartment. Once inside, he guides her into her bedroom.

He sits down on the bed. "You and I, we are in a war together." He looks down at the floor. "Against the trauma. Which, as you know, makes me not say the things I need to say."

She nods and sits next to him.

"I'm going to explain things the best I can," he says. "Just – keep in mind, that I am in love with you. You are the one I want to be with."

She leans her head against his shoulder. "Okay."

"We were colleagues in Iraq. I was engaged to Beth the whole time that I worked alongside Teddy. Teddy was my friend, someone I could talk with about the cases we were seeing, the experiences we were going through."

Cristina closes her eyes, wincing.

"If I had been single, I would have made a move on her to see what happened. I liked her as a person and as a surgeon. I liked her very much. But I wasn't single, and so I didn't. And I didn't think she was interested in me in that way anyways. If I had thought she was interested, I might have ended things with Beth earlier, to be honest. I had feelings for her, but I didn't act on them."

He takes in a deep breath. "And so I didn't think it was wrong of me to call her up about coming to Seattle Grace to be your mentor. Because as far as I knew, she only wanted to be friends. She let me know at the end of that first day that I was wrong. She said she thought I would have contacted her after I broke up with Beth, given the feelings between us."

"Oh."

"I felt incredibly stupid when she told me that. And I couldn't figure out why she would even do that – she knew I was with you."

Cristina's hands slightly flex.

"I didn't say anything for the longest time, because I was trying to figure it out on my own. But after – last night – I had to confront her."

"Oh."

Owen sighs. "She's in love with me. And I am in love with you. And I told her that."

"Okay..."

"I'm sorry for hurting you last night," he says, placing a hand on her thigh. "What you saw, was me wondering what to do about this friend that I'd hurt without meaning to. I confronted her so I could make things right for you."

They sit in silence for a few moments.

"Okay," she says, placing her hand on his. "For someone who hates talking, you did pretty good."

He snorts. "It's never been my strong suit, not – before, not ever."

"Me too." They sit again in silence.

"You know what I really hate?" Cristina asks.

"What?"

"I'm not going to be able to wear sexy teddies for you any more."

Owen bursts out laughing. "_That's_ the problem? Cristina, we work with her."

"We'll figure that out somehow. But you will never be able to give me a teddy bear as a gift."

"You're not the teddy bear type."

"But still. You can't give a teddy bear to our ch -" Cristina pauses.

He turns and looks at her, eyebrows raised, mouth twitching. "Go on."

"Enough talking," she blurts out. She kisses him. "You choose me. Got it. End of discussion."

He grins, a slow sexy smile that reaches his eyes. "I'll buy you lots of sexy bras and panties to make it up to you."

"Shut up," she murmurs, before kissing him again.

"And there are plenty of toys we could-"

"I told you to _shut up_," she laughs, shoving him until he's on his back. He opens his mouth and she kisses him hungrily, sliding her tongue against his to silence him.

"Show me," she whispers against his mouth. "Show me you want to be with me."


End file.
